Archer History Teacher Attends White House Correspondents’ Dinner

President Obama speaks to his guests at the White House Correspondents Dinner. This image is one of many featured on the White House Correspondence Association's website. Photographer J.M. Eddins Jr.

On May 3 Archer History Chair Lucy Pinkwater attended the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner. The first dinner was held in 1921, and it has since become a prestigious event.

Pinkwater describes her experience as “truly remarkable.” She was able to get a “private tour of the White House,” and feels it was “fascinating to sit on the furniture and look at all of the paintings.”

She was accompanied to the dinner by her husband, who was there on business.

Chris Christie and John McCain chatting right next to Pinkwater after the dinner. Photographer: Lucy Pinkwater

“It was a sort of a mish-mosh of all different worlds in this one room, and it was pretty amazing to be at the epicenter of all that,” she says.

She and her husband were seated directly next to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. She describes her spot as, “Grand Central Station as far as having people wanting to go up and talk to him”

However, being next to Christie was at times awkward for Pinkwater. She says, “A lot of the jokes were about him, so it was a little uncomfortable to be seated near him while he was being made fun of, but afterwards he had such a good sense of humor about it.”

Overall, Pinkwater says she had a great time and “feels very fortunate to have gotten to attend.”

Sarah Wagner is the Co-Editor-In-Chief of the Oracle this year along with Syd Stone. She is a senior, and has been involved with the Oracle since her sophomore year. In her sophomore and junior years, she served as the News/Features editor. Two summers ago, she worked as an intern at the local paper The Brentwood News. Outside of the Oracle, she is a volunteer at the teen hotline Teenline, Co-President of the Student store, a member of the debate team, and a PAWS peer tutor.